- The Governor General of Canada
The contents of this Register are intended for research purposes only. The heraldic emblems found in the Register may not be reproduced in any form or in any media without the written consent of the Canadian Heraldic Authority and/or the recipient.
City of Castlegar
Castlegar, British Columbia
Grant of Arms, Supporters, Flag and Badge
May 24, 1996
Vol. III, p. 95
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Blazon
Arms
Azure a saltire wavy Or voided of the field surmounted by a cross nowy Or charged in centre point with a triple towered castle Azure masoned Or;
Crest
Issuant from a mural crown Azure masoned Or charged with a maple leaf between two crescents Gules all edged Argent a mound Vert thereon a cougar statant Or;
Supporters
On a mound set with pine trees and two clusters of sunflowers proper parted by a stream Azure crested Argent rising above barry wavy Argent and Azure two ospreys wings elevated and addorsed Or gorged with a torse Or and Azure pendant therefrom a hurt charged with a heart Or;
Motto
HAEC LUMINA NUMQUAM ERRANTIAE;
Symbolism
Arms
The yellow cross and wavy bars emphasizes that Castlegar is at the crossroads of great rivers and roads. The castle refers to the origins of the City’s name, while the three towers, of which the central one is higher, represent the original Town of Castlegar, the original Town of Kinnaird and the amalgamated City of Castlegar.
Crest
The mural coronet signifies that these are the arms of a municipal government. Here it is in the form granted to the Town of Kinnaird by the Lord Lyon, King of Arms, blue stones with gold masonry. The maple leaf flanked by two crescents was taken from a central part of the Kinnaird shield, which underscores Castlegar as a Canadian community and recalls an earlier emblem that is part of the collective civic heritage. The cougar represents the rich wildlife of the region.
Supporters
The osprey represents the magnificent local heritage of landscape and wildlife. It is also a bird noted for the acuity of its sight, thus an apt symbol for a City looking ahead confidently to its future. The heart medallion refers to Castlegar as the “Heart of the Kootenays”. The ospreys stand on a forest of pine trees and sunflowers. The pines refer to the local forests and the sunflowers, a floral emblem for the City. The stream which “falls” on the vertical into the water below represents the spillway of the Keenleyside Dam on the Arrow Lakes and the waters of the Columbia and Kootenay Rivers.
Motto
This Latin phrase means “These lights never wander” and is inspired by the Town of Kinnaird’s coat of arms.